1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as a portable computer comprising a keyboard and, more particularly, to a structure for reinforcing a housing supporting a keyboard.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic apparatus such as a notebook-type portable computer comprises a housing formed of synthetic resin to support the keyboard. The housing comprises a keyboard-mounting portion opening to a top face of the housing. The keyboard comprises a plate-like keyboard base and a plurality of key tops. The keyboard base is fitted in the keyboard-mounting portion. The key tops are supported by the keyboard base and exposed to the top face of the housing.
The housing accommodates computer modules such as an optical disk drive and a battery pack. The computer modules are positioned under the keyboard-mounting portion to face the keyboard base.
Recently, the electronic apparatus has been designed to be thin and compact to increase portability. In accordance with this, the housing is inclined to be thin. Some of the housings are so thin that they are bent when they are pushed by a fingertip. The thickness of the keyboard is also reduced in accordance with the thinness of the housing. If the keyboard base is thinner, the rigidity of the keyboard base is reduced. For this reason, the keyboard base is bent by an impulse caused when the key top is pushed down by a fingertip.
As the housing becomes thinner, a gap between the keyboard base and the computer modules becomes smaller. If the keyboard base is bent under these circumstances, the keyboard base may contact the computer modules. As a result, the impulse may be applied to the computer modules and may cause malfunctions and breakage in the computer modules.
To prevent the impulse, a support wall is provided at the keyboard-mounting portion of the housing, in an electronic apparatus disclosed in, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-182788 or Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-196838. The support wall is provided between the keyboard and the computer modules to support the keyboard base from a lower side.
In this structure, a space including the support wall is needed between the keyboard and the computer modules. For this reason, the support wall is desired to be as thin as possible to restrict the thickness of the housing. However, if the support wall is made to be thinner, the rigidity of the support wall is lost. As a result, if the key tops are operated with a strong force, its impulse may bend the support wall. The support wall may contact the computer modules and application of the impulse to the computer modules cannot be prevented.